Black Rose
by InsertManiacLaughterHere
Summary: Trace life back to its roots, and you'll find it all comes down to family and revenge. On hiatus, for current lack of interest and stupidity.
1. Prologue

Edit 6/13/10: Okay, this story is going on a sort of semi-permanant haitus. After much contemplation (and a quick re-reading) I found I rather dislike it. (Considering this is something I started at the age of 12, that's no surprise.) All my focus will go into The Beginning of Desire and The Sacrificial Lambs. On a side note, Kara is to be reincarnated into a non fanfiction story some time in the near future.

xXx

"Just kill your family and get it over with." The dark-red headed demon snarled at the little water demon, Kara. She ignored him, and stared down at her younger brother, mother and father kneeling down in front of her. Her brother looked pleadingly back, with tears in his eyes. She sighed, and turned her head to glare at the demon.

"Kill them yourself." Her voice was full of insolence.

"What a defiant little whelp." He turned to a girl a few years older than Kara. "What do you think she should do, Aseru?"

Aseru smirked cruelly. "I think that Dear Sister should chop their heads off." She flicked a hand to empathize. "But of course, being a water demon, she's too weak to accomplish such a simple task." She shook her head disapprovingly, still smirking.

Being called weak instantly angered Kara even more. She turned to Aseru, her sister, and snarled. "So what if I'm a water demon? So what if I'm different than the rest of the family? It doesn't mean I can't kill." Her sharp, long fingernails dug into the palms of her hands, piercing the skin. She unclenched her hands and, ignoring the blood, collected the water molecules in the air to form the sword she always used when fighting. Aseru and the other demon grinned. They had known that, with the right provocation, she might just kill the rest of her family. And calling her weak seemed to work.

"Oh, but that only proves that you won't kill. Water demons are supposed to be the opposite of fire demons; they're peace makers. You can't murder. It's in your blood." Aseru laughed. "What would all the other demons think?" Her smile broadened, amusement burning in her stormy-grey eyes.

Kara glared at her one more time, before turning to face her brother. Tears were streaming down his face, as he bawled wildly. He was only seven, after all...

"No, Kara!" A strangled sob escaped her mother's throat. "Don't kill Aisoku! Not my little boy!"

"Kara, spare your brother and kill only your mother and me. _Don't kill Aisoku._" Her father tried not to let anger seep into his deep voice. He shook his head slightly, looking directly into her ice-blue eyes with his own. As much as he hated his youngest daughter for being a water demon, he could never have killed her. She looked too much like himself when he was younger, with a similar personality. The closest he ever came was having Aseru try out different techniques as she trained to get stronger. But he spent most of his time with Aisoku, his only son. He needed his son to get strong, so he could fight his way to the top, and be the leader of the Burning Earth, an organization of fire demons that were close to taking over the Mekai.

Kara just scoffed at them. "You think I'm going to listen to you? He's just going to grow up to be prejudice against water demons. You're just going to use him to get what you two want: power." She raised her sword, and laid it against her father's throat. "He should have his own say in his life, but you will never let him." She flicked the sword to the side, leaving a shallow cut on her father's throat. He reached up and touched the blood, a feeling of powerlessness spreading through his body.

"Fine. Be the weak water demon you were born as. It's a disappointment I didn't end your life when I had the chance." He closed his eyes.

Kara gave one last look at her brother, her eyes silently saying "I'm sorry." before she slit all of their throats in one quick motion. She watched their bodies hit the moss covered ground, and their wet blood slowly pool around them. The moonlight overhead turned it to a lighter color, making it seem less ominous.

Turning back to watch the receding forms of Aseru and the other demon, she felt the sting of tears for the first time in years. She had fallen right into their trap, followed their plans flawlessly. A cold smile crept onto her face. Why not do next what they most expected: vengeance. She'd play their idiotic game to perfection.


	2. The Fight

Kara snuck into the small clearing, pulling the hood on her black cloak up. Her eyes never left the two figures asleep against a tree a few meters away. Reluctantly, she turned her back to them, and began searching for the small jewel that they had possession of. She turned a few minutes later, having not found it, and stared at the two demons, looking to see if they were keeping it near themselves.

A blue glint caught her eye, just below the silver-haired one's left hand. She silently cursed herself. They almost always seemed to be somewhere where it was nearly impossible to reach them. _Nearly._

Slowly inhaling a deep breath, she took a few silent steps right up to them, debating whether there was a need to kill them or not. Deciding against it, she crouched down a matter of inches from them, and reached a hand out, beckoning the small water colored jewel to drift out from under the demon's hand and closer to hers. It was almost in her hand when a pair of strong arms reached out and grabbed her around the waist, pulling her away from the jewel.

The water demon struggled against her captor, growling like a feral wolf. The silver haired demon who had had the jewel opened his gold eyes, and smiled at her. "Neither of us didn't sense you until you were right next to us." He laughed, standing up to his full height. "So don't look so pissed."

Kara stopped struggling to glare at him.

"How adorable, she's a wolf demon, too." The demon holding her pulled her head around to look at her face.

A few seconds later, Kara was standing a couple feet away, watching both demons warily. The one that had been holding her stared at the blood on his arms and hands.

"She has some fight, too." The other demon smiled. He and his companion both looked at each other, thinking the same thing.

"How 'bout this, Wolfy: we have a little contest to see who gets to keep the jewel you're after."

Now it was Kara's turn to smile. "You mean this jewel?" She held it up, making sure it glinted in a ray of moonlight so they saw it clearly. They stared at her, disbelieving what they saw.

"Give it back, you little whelp."

"I thought we were going to have a contest..." The emotionless mask she always seemed to wear these days slid onto her face. "Something along the lines of a fight?"

"I like the way you think." The fox demon stepped closer, making Kara step back. He smiled at her reaction. "Which one of us do you want to fight?"

"It doesn't matter..." Kara mumbled, glaring at him. He and his companion exchanged a glance and nodded. He stepped foreward again.

"I'll fight you, then." He moved directly into an attack, bringing a long green whip down where Kara had just been standing. He turned quickly, and glared at the water demon. She glared back, sword in hand. They moved to attack each other at the same time. Kara pulled back at the last second before the rose whip hit her, moving quickly to the right. They both kept up continuous attacks for around twenty minutes, their weapons moving too fast for human eyes to see.

They stopped suddenly, a few feet apart. Kara stared at the carnivorous plant starting to slowly wrap itself around her left leg, trying to watch her opponent at the same time. She cut it to shreds just as the rose whip came down across her face, leaving a deep gash in its path.

Quickly wiping the blood streaming into her left eye, she dodged a few of his attacks with the whip, being careful to watch for plants that suddenly sprouted. A few more minutes passed filled with the sound of quick footsteps, heavy breathing, and dirt being removed from the ground by the fox demon's rose whip.

The rose whip never hit Kara anymore, and she didn't get snared by plants starting to grow around her, but neither did her sword hit her opponent. They did have a couple close calls, though.

Small drops of water flashed inches from the fox demon's throat, and the whip nearly sliced off one of Kara's ears.

The fox demon's partner watched the fight intently from beside a tree, as the clearing was taken over by the fight. He still had to dodge some small rocks that were being kicked up, and the occasional airborne water droplets. He was amazed at how fast the water demon could move, and how she could easily change the shape of her sword to dodge the flying whip. But he could tell his companion was starting to tire from dodging all her swift attacks. He was beginning to wonder if he should step in...

In a split second the fox demon was on the ground with a sword held to his throat, breathing heavily. He stared at his opponent; he couldn't remember being pushed down onto the forest floor... She wasn't looking at him though, but at his friend who was halfway across the clearing, frozen in mid-step, also staring.

He was starting to regret going easy on her...


	3. Tracking and Traveling

Kara glared back, daring him to take another step closer. He wouldn't be able to make it near enough to stop her from slitting Kurama's throat... So he relaxed his stance a little, and held up both hands to show he didn't want to fight. The wolf demon looked at him suspiciously, and changed her sword into a collar of water around Kurama's neck that she could easily use to slice his head off with. She took a few wary steps away, and allowed herself to smirk. "I guess the 'little whelp' won the Aqua Jewel." Kara sneered.

"There weren't any rules. For all you know, I get to fight you now."

"Obviously you didn't hear your friend's and my conversation." Her lips pulled up into a cruel smile, showing her sharp fangs.

He looked down at Kurama, sitting up while trying not to move his head or neck. "She won it fair and square." He grumbled, still trying to figure out how she actually _did_ manage to win.

"Exactly." Kara turned around and began walking briskly out of the clearing, into the darkness of the surrounding woods. After she disappeared into the shadows, the band of water evaporated into the air. Kurama stood up, rubbing his throat.

"That was fun." He smirked. "You stay here; I'm going to see where she goes..." He vanished into the woods, too.

xXx

Kurama followed a mile behind, carefully concealing his presence. He nearly lost the trail a few times, and had to backtrack. He eventually found her standing in the middle of wide stream, staring up at the full moon. She was almost in the direct middle of its rippling reflection. "Come on, come on..." She murmured to herself.

The fox demon smiled to himself. "So you're impatient?"

Kara turned her head to glare at him, a low growl just starting to erupt from her throat when...

She disappeared it a flash of moonlight.

Kurama stared at the spot for a split second, before running over to investigate. Just as he put his feet where hers had been, he vanished, too.


	4. Defiant Answers

Kurama landed hard on top of something that was growling. He looked down directly into Kara's hostile eyes, realizing then that he was lying on top of her.

"Get _off_." She shoved him away roughly, still snarling. She stood up quickly, and was about to say something when a blast of fire blew her forward, on top of him this time.

"So sorry to interrupt Kara, but it's only on very rare occasions that I might be able to catch you unawares."

The new series of growls that came out of Kara's throat was directed at the owner of the voice, instead of Kurama. A fire demon with a reddish tinge to his skin was facing her, grinning wide enough to show off all his filed teeth. She sat up, too distracted to realize she was straddling Kurama, and was about to stand up when another blast erupted. She turned just in time to block a falling tree with a shield made of water. It fell aside a foot from Kurama's head.

"Ensho-sama and Aseru-sama sent my apprentice and me to dispose of you once and for all." He smiled even wider.

Kara was about to say something back, when she felt Kurama shift below her. She looked down into his eyes. "Do you mind getting off of me?"

She ignored him, looking back up at the other demon. "What, you're not going to run this time?" Kara stood up to dodge another blast, turning to look at a young female demon emerging from the wall of smoke.

"Don't talk to Sensei that way." She mumbled, staring at Kara intently. Her eyes flickered briefly in fear. She made another blast of fire near her.

The water demon jumped away quickly. "The first three explosions were bigger. Are you already beginning to loose some chi?" There was an amused and mocking note to her voice.

The small apprentice instantly became flustered, and made three more blasts.

"Watch it, Bakuha. She's just trying to provoke you."

The apprentice ignored her teacher and continued to try and hurt Kara with small explosions. They were easily dodged by the swift wolf demon, who had her back to the small girl so she could watch the far more powerful fire demon. "Your apprentice has no respect."

"Bakuha, stop it now."

"No! I can kill her myself!" The female was breathing hard, having put so much energy into the blasts. She stopped suddenly, gasping as a small drop of water shot through her abdomen.

"Maybe I should teach her a lesson..." Kara had a malicious grin, and she flicked her hand again.

Two more drops shot through Bakuha's legs, right at the knees. She fell, tears starting to form. "Saiketsu-sensei! Help me!" More drops of sliced through her elbows.

Saiketsu watched, looking like he couldn't care less. "Now why would I help you? In the five years I've been teaching you, you never learned anything." He ignored the rest of her pleas, and turned his attention back to Kara.

"My, my, aren't we being cruel today." He grinned. "Torturing a fourteen-year-old, have you no heart?"

Kara flicked her hand one last time, effectively ending the apprentice's life. "Now that that annoyance is out of the way, let's continue on with the fight we were having last moon, before you ran away."

Saiketsu nodded in agreement. "Indeed, let's." He laughed, mentally planning an attack strategy. He knew Kara's fighting techniques from having fought her several times before, but there was no doubt she'd know his. Thankfully he had a move that she didn't yet know of... He laughed again, darkly.

xXx

Kurama had watched silently as Kara tortured the small girl a few feet away. He felt a spark of interest as a small, final drop of water slid across the girl's throat, and heard her final gasp with odd clarity. Kara obviously had more power than she used when he fought her just half an hour prior. Why hadn't she used more at first, and finished him off quicker? Why hadn't she just killed him, like she was obviously capable of?

He turned his head slightly as she and the fire demon tensed, getting ready for an oncoming fight. They both stared at each other intently, and he got the feeling they knew what the other was going to do.

For the first time he became aware of the harsh wind blowing miniscule snowflakes around, not letting them settle to the already snow covered ground. He felt a biting chill that made him shiver slightly. Rubbing his bare arms, he shifted so the wind was clawing at his back instead.

He watched the fight attentively.

Kara ignored the few sparks flying at her that were meant as a distraction, why Saiketsu built up smoke seemingly out of thin air. He held it in one spot so it didn't blow away in the fierce gale, slowly shifting his position so Kara was downwind of him. That put his back to a river that was invisible under all the snow. It looked exactly like the surrounding area, minus the spattering of trees. He obviously didn't know the lay of the land that well.

The wolf demon took a couple strides closer to him and the thick cloud of smoke that was starting to roughly take on the shape of a large hawk. With a final deep breath and last bit of smoke, the bird was fully formed. It opened its eyes and reared back in the air, unfurling its twenty foot wing span. Embers showered down in the shape feathers, and blew away in the wind. Kara just smirked at the daunting bird.

"All that energy, and that's the best you can do?" She chuckled. "Pathetic." She raised both arms, and began directing the snow, trying to smother the hawk.

Saiketsu smirked and waved his hands toward Kara. The bird dodged the flurry of snow, flying directly for her. She twisted her right hand quickly, and then set it on the bird's hooked beak. She laughed again as it started writhing in agony, letting out an earsplitting screech. It fell to the ground, causing a large amount of snow to fly up and blow away. Its smoky body slowly blew away with it.

"Ah, I hate killing those kinds of creatures." The water demon directed her attention back to Saiketsu. "But it was disgustingly loyal to its filthy master."

The fire demon stared at the now snow free space where his smoke-hawk had fallen. He shuffled back, almost tripping over a small bank of snow that marked the edge of the river. Kara took steps forward to match his, and pushed him farther out onto the invisible ice.

He finally realized what lay under his feet. "What a fitting end..." He murmured to himself, smiling grimly.

Kara raised her right hand again.

"So, you're just going to let the river drown me..."

"No, something much more fun." Her hand tensed into the shape of crude claws.

Saiketsu could feel the water starting to build up in his lungs, though he remained above the ice. With each breath he took, it slowly began to freeze it...

xXx

Kurama stared at the fire demon falling to his knees, making a horrendous gurgling noise that ended abruptly as water began dripping out of his open jaw and nostrils sluggishly, already beginning to freeze.

He looked at Kara, who was walking toward him, glaring coldly. "Why'd you follow me here?" She didn't spare a second glance for the fire demon that had been a mere annoyance.

"Because it promised to be interesting." He stared down at her, respect clearly showing in his eyes. "Where are we?"

She ignored him and walked away directly into the wind. The well-below-zero temperature clearly didn't bother her. Her waist length black hair fluttered out behind her, concealing the ears that were pressed tightly against her head. Kurama ran up and stood in her path. "Where are we?" He demanded more sternly.

"A few feet away from where you were just standing a couple seconds ago." She dodged around him.

Kurama reached out quickly, making his rose whip wrap around her ivory colored neck. "That isn't a good answer."

"Too bad for you." She stood still, glaring at the whip around her neck with its thorns drawing a small amount of blood.

"This is clearly a different place than where we fought each other."

"So?"

"_Where are we_?" Kurama growled, annoyed by her defiance.

"_Fuck off._" Kara growled back, turning her head to give him a sharp glare with her unnerving eyes.

He quickly grabbed her by the collar of her thick black cloak, and pulled his rose whip tighter. She just laughed darkly at him. "Is that supposed to be threatening?" She flicked a pointer finger and cut the whip in half. But Kurama still had a good hold on the thick fabric of her clothes. They glared at each other.

After a few minutes of their hostile-glaring competition, Kara reached up and flicked him on the nose. Kurama reluctantly let go, and watched her walk away. "I'll just keep on following you until I get an adequate answer."

"Good luck with that."


	5. Finally, Some Stupid Answers

After seven days of Kurama following her around, Kara had completely tuned him out. She blatantly ignored his presence, carrying about with the things she normally did. (Like murder any of the fire demons that crossed her path, only involving torture only if they tried to run.)

He noted how he never saw her eat or sleep, and that she always seemed to be on edge with her ears flicking around trying to catch certain sounds carried by the howling wind. Yes, the wind was still blowing. It also seemed to snow none stop, and already the height of the snow had increased by three feet. And it never quit. It was getting nearly impossible to breathe without your lungs feeling like they were going to freeze up and stop working. But the worst part about the strange place was that there was no sun.

The moon had taken over the sun's function: that was the conclusion he came to. When it wasn't bathing the land in its silvery-glow, there was nothing in the sky at all, except for the occasional wind-blown cloud. The fox demon shuddered at the thought. How could there be any plants at all?

He sat, lost in a turmoil of thoughts and questions. So it surprised him when Kara suddenly appeared, glaring with hostile eyes. He was even more surprised when she spoke. She hadn't said anything he could understand while he had been watching; it had been in a completely different language.

"Come." She snarled.

Kurama wrapped the coat he had "acquired" more tightly around himself, preparing to walk out of the protective group of trees that were blocking most the wind, and followed her directly into its biting clutches. The snowflakes stinging his eyes felt more like ice. He stopped walking suddenly, deciding this was the perfect opportunity to make a demand.

"I won't follow unless you answer my questions."

Kara paused, but didn't look at him. She glanced at the moon instead. "There might not be enough time."

"Time for what?"

"You want to return to the Mekai?"

"Yes, but what does time have to do with it?"

Kara finally turned to look at him, an odd smile on her face. "Timing is everything." She turned and started walking briskly again, her feet hardly sinking into the snow at all. "We need to go fifty miles south to a small creek before the moon reaches the halfway point in the sky."

"I could easily get there in five minutes."

"Factor into your estimate that the direction the wind is blowing is about to change in thirty seconds, the depth of the snow is about to increase at an amazing rate, and that there might be a few distractions along the way." Kara pulled up her hood as the wind suddenly started blowing directly into their faces, brining with it sharp bits of ice. "Never mind, it already changed direction."

"Okay then, thirty minutes." He could already feel the snow deepening. _It's eerie how she can read the weather like that._

"It's going to get colder, so therefore harder to breathe." She was smirking now.

"Fine, what's _your_ estimate on time." He could easily reach out and kill her now...

"Three hours, unless you cover your nose and mouth." She tossed a long strip of thick fabric at him. He looked it over suspiciously, wondering if she had dripped poison on it that he would inhale. He sniffed it; it smelt like a mix of different herbs.

"I'd use a poison that's _odorless._" Kara was still smirking.

Kurama stared at her. _She can read minds, too._

"Not minds, actions."

xXx

An hour and a half later, they arrived at a small frozen stream. "No distractions... Odd..." Kara mumbled to herself, almost inaudibly.

"Now will you answer my questions?"

She looked up at the moon, checking the time. "Depends." She walked over to the stream, searching for a certain spot. Kneeling down after a few steps, she reached out and brushed snow off the thick sheet of ice. It was glowing slightly. Kurama stared the faint illumination that that looked like sunlight...

"First question: where are we?"

Kara's hand broke through the ice as she turned her head to glare at him. The fox demon smirked. That was the same question he'd been asking for the last week around every hour.

"A part of the Mekai that got... separated thousands of years ago." She growled through clenched teeth, pulling her hand out of the ice-cold water.

Kurama nodded. "Second question: why are there always fire demons trying to kill you?"

Kara turned away, working on thawing out the ice above the glowing water. "That doesn't concern you." Her voice was a low hiss filled with hostility. He decided not to press for an answer, ignoring the intensified curiosity.

"Third question: who are Ensho and Aseru?"

The water demons hand broke through the ice again, splashing the freezing water everywhere. "You're very perceptive."

Kurama smiled. "So you're _that_ Kara."

"What the hell are you mumbling about?" She stood up abruptly, turning on him.

"You're an assassin and thief feared and hated among other water demons for your lack of remorse when you kill or commit a violent crime. The leader of the Burning Earth, Ensho, is your sister's mate, and they both want you murdered before you can kill them yourself."

Kara seemed to be unnerved by his knowledge of her, but quickly hid it. "And do you know why I want to kill them?"

"Now that rumor is the most obscure." Kurama grinned ruthlessly. "But you're very infamous. A few demons use your name to scare their little children into behaving."

Kara looked annoyed. "Most the things they say about me are fabricated."

"Do you know anything about me?"

"You're the unofficial King of Thieves, and it's time for you to go." She pointed to the glowing water. Kurama walked over, shivering when his feet splashed into the sluggish stream. He saw a large rock with feet-shaped indents.

"One last question; why'd you go easy on me when we were fighting?" He watched her receding form slip away into the shadows, and just barely heard the reply.

"_You're _the one who was going easy..."

Then Kurama disappeared back to the Mekai, back at the creek where he had watched Kara vanish to the strange, sunless world. _That's a demon I'll never see again._


	6. Family Relations

Koenma sat in his office quietly, awaiting the arrival of one of the spirit world's associates, an S class water demon by the name of Sakushun. The threat he had received ten minutes prior turned around in his head. It clearly troubled the young prince. His head snapped up to watch as Botan entered the room, followed closely by a demon he could only guess was Sakushun, by the intense aura that surrounded him.

"Prince Koenma." The brown haired demon bowed slightly, smiling kindly.

The prince got the feeling of a sense of urgency. "Sakushun, I was told by King Enma that you handle a specific part of the Mekai for us."

"Ah, they sent a threat, didn't they?" His eyes flashed briefly as he acknowledged what the Prince was talking about. Though the water demon looked to be in his thirties, he was much, much older. He knew without even really thinking what caused Koenma so much trouble.

"If 'they' means the Burning Earth, than yes." He paused slightly. "We need to know if they're serious."

Sakushun grinned, laughing slightly. "They're dead serious. And, they have plenty of power to back it up." He stopped, staring at Koenma intensely. His eyes darkened. "No, I can't help you, and there's no way that your spirit detective would be able to handle something like this."

Koenma stared at him in disbelief. "You've always helped the spirit world with similar affairs before, why not now?"

"My apprentice." He was still grinning, but once more the Prince caught a feeling of urgency.

"What would your apprentice have to do with the Burning Earth?"

"They have a history. As we speak, she's currently locked in a battle to the death with their leader, Aseru. It was just starting to gain in intensity when I received your message."

Sakushun grin faded to a grim smile. "Kara's spent her whole life driven by revenge, with a deep hate for the Burning Earth and most everything else. It's sad to see a water demon so corrupt in thought." He chuckled. "And now she's finally able to fight her sister."

_'A corrupt water demon?' _Koenma thought to himself. "Then could she... Handle the threat for us?"

"No." He smiled in a sickeningly-sweet way.

The Prince just stared.

"Sure, she's been slowly picking them off one by one for years, having her fun with torture and what-not, but she works on her own agenda. The only way she'll kill on request is if you pay her."

"What would she do if I sent Yusuke to take care of them?"

"Kill him." That same overly-sweet smile.

Sakushun watched Koenma silently as he got lost in thought. After a few minutes, he decided to steer his mind onto the right path. "There is a certain demon that might just be able to persuade her." He paused, letting his words sink in.

"Please continue."

"She has a fire demon cousin from the father's side. They have a sort of hate agreement..."

xXx

Hiei walked into Koenma's office, only knowing that the mission he had reluctantly agreed to be a part of involved a water demon. He froze at the sight of Sakushun, and stood there glaring. How had he let Kurama talk him into this? He should have _known_ it had something to do with _him_. And the only reason he'd be dragged into it meant it probably involved Kara. "I'm not doing anything if _she_'s a part of this."

xXx

Edit 6/13/10: Ugh. Japanese "names"? Hiei's cousin? What was I thinking...


	7. Land of Moonlight and Darkness

Sakushun smiled at the fire demon, staring directly into his crimson eyes that spoke of ultimate pain and torture if he were to be defied. In other words, Hiei was doing his well known death glare that always stopped people, whether human or demon, dead in their tracks.

"You are going, since you're the only person alive who has the slightest chance of convincing that stubborn cousin of yours to let the Rekai interfere with the tedious task of keeping the Burning Earth under control." It seemed he was oblivious to the feared death glare.

"You think she's stubborn now, wait until I suggest something." Hiei continued his glowering.

"I didn't mean to 'suggest' the idea," The ancient demon brushed a few specks of dirt absentmindedly off the sleeve of his finely made shirt. "More like..." He searched for the right word. "Provoke her into agreeing."

After a brief pause, he took Hiei's silence (and intensified glare) as a 'no', deciding on a different approach. "I'm sure there are a few items of interest she might have acquired before you got a chance to." He leaned back against Koenma's desk. "I don't think she'd notice if they suddenly ended up among your possessions."

Sakushun let the bribe remain the topic of thought for a few seconds, before signaling to Koenma. The Prince pressed a button on the under side of his desk.

xXx

Kurama squinted at the forms of his friends, waiting for his eyes to adjust to the sudden darkness that had enshrouded them. Everyone appeared uninjured, except Kuwabara who had landed on a low-hanging tree branch. He turned and looked at Sakushun, who was standing with a slightly smug expression. "Where did you bring us?"

The water demon just smiled in a brief reply, before addressing everyone else. "Welcome to the unnamed and untamed land that bears no official name."

Everyone looked around at their surroundings, barely able to see in the pale moonlight streaming through the thick foliage overhead. The overhanging leaves had black veins running through the mix of dark velvet colors; and the few insects fluttering by in the harsh gale were mere shadows.

There was no time to observe anymore of the surrounding landscape, as Sakushun had started walking briskly, taking advantage of his long legs to step nimbly over protruding roots. He started talking.

"Most commonly, this beautiful place is called the 'Land of Moonlight and Darkness'." He paused to observe a footprint. "There's no sun, just the moon; and the creatures, demon and animal alike, are all extremely vicious." He smiled as a wolf let out a mournful howl full of loneliness. "Particularly the wolves..."

"What about the demon you were talking about in Koenma's office?" Kuwabara asked.

"She's ruthless and enjoys killing fire demons." Kurama informed them quietly.

Sakushun chucked. "Yes, that's a general description of my dear misguided apprentice. When exactly did you two meet, Kurama?"

Kurama didn't answer.

xXx

The two wolf demons seemed to represent 'Good' and 'Evil' perfectly.

The one dressed in white was stained with small bleeding cuts and a broken arm that didn't taint her almost sincere and mocking smile at all.

The one dressed in black had small burns everywhere, with piercing ice-blue eyes full of a hatred and loathing that was only emphasized by the horrendous scar stretching from one side of her face to the other.

They both were panting heavily, driven to the point of near exhaustion by their intense fight that forced water and fire to dance with each other.

When two sisters face off, which is 'Good', and which is 'Evil'...?


	8. Just For Fun

With the Spirit Detectives and Sakushun's quiet approach, they were able to observe the two sister's final attacks unnoticed. The perfectly timed strikes with their swords were something to marvel at. Each was full of harsh and graceful beauty.

Something was . . . off . . . About the one on one fight. Kurama could feel it nipping at the back of his conscience, daring him to find out. He focused in more on the two women, ready to accept the challenge.

Aseru appeared exhausted, panting heavily, her smooth features twisted in rage in frustration. None of the slashes she made with her fiery sword landed on her sister. Her form radiated energy and life.

Desperation and fear were slowly working their way into her eyes with each swift move of Kara's near-transparent sword.

It clicked in the fox demon's mind. Kara was in complete control, _teasing_ Aseru by snaking her sword around to stab her, then pulling away a matter of millimeters from her skin. The showoff could of ended seconds after it began.

But it hadn't. Kurama could see it now: a slight smirk pulling at Kara's lips, an amused glint to her eyes. This was all just for fun. And was she getting . . . Bored?

A few more seconds, and Aseru snapped, abandoning all sense of self preservation and logic. She gripped her blade in two hands, and swung it around, aiming for the neck. It slid cleanly through the air, never hitting flesh.

In the blink of an eye, Kara had moved directly behind her sister. Her left hand now protruded from the front of the fire demon's chest cavity, a still-beating organ grasped loosely.

Aseru fell forward onto the ground with a light thud. The two humans were dumbstruck; their mouths hanging open in silent wonderment. Hiei struggled to hide an amused smile.

Now that her attention was not focused on her adversary, Kara turned slowly to face the Spirit Detectives. Her features didn't portray even a hint of emotion as she studied the two humans for a split second. "What?" The snarl was barely audible, her Japanese roughly strangled with a thick and unrecognizable accent.

"The Rekai has decided to stick its nose into the Burning Earth's affairs." Sakushun didn't meet her eyes, opting instead to brush a small leaf off his shirt. After a few minutes of silence, he glanced back up at Kara curiously. He knew the wolf demon preferred to say as few words as possible, but an angry retort was expected.

His mouth opened slightly, at a loss of words to yell at her fast-receding form. It was just like her to completely ignore the Rekai's petty interferences, and blatantly disrespect her mentor; but to walk away from a fire demon without as much as a glare? Maybe she had already dropped all those pointless notions of revenge now that her sister was slaughtered . . .

Turning to face Yusuke, he let a grin spread across his face. "Well, looks like you have consent to take out the Burning Earth." He waved his hand, hoping to humans that the gesture was still meant as a farewell. Then he turned and walked in the opposite direction of Kara, figuring they could fend for themselves. It would be easy enough to find the organization of fire demons; all they had to do was follow the little trail through the forest marked by scorched trees and vegetation.

In the mean time, he was going back to his little home nested between two tributaries of the moonlit land's largest river.

xXx

Kara stood on the highest branch of a large tree, hidden well from the searching eyes of the Spirit Detectives far below. She was little affected by the cold, gusting wind, using the noisy rustle of leaves to jump to the next lowest bough. Her right ear swiveled around the catch the voices of the small group. They were arguing quietly below, trying to decide whether to follow Sakushun, or to pursue their original plan of taking out the Burning Earth. The red head and fire demon were breaking off from the dispute, and starting one of their own. She shook her head at their idiocy.

Nimbly jumping to a much lower limb on a nearby tree, the wolf demon crouched down on the very end of it. She was now only three feet above them, examining their auras. With the two humans it was easy to figure out what they would amount to, as they were not yet at the peak of their powers. The two demons were a bit more difficult. She passed over Hiei's inspection without much thought, noting that the fire demon had gone through with his plan of possessing a Jagan.

Last she inspected the red head. Surprise made her grip on the branch tighten; her top lip also curling back in disgust. Without much forethought, Kara lunged down to the ground inches behind him. "And just what do you think you are doing here, _fox_." She hissed into his ear.

Instantly alert, the fox demon spun round on his heels, ready to face a possible attack. His rose whip was already gliding through the air, towards Kara. She allowed it to slide easily around her throat without flinching.

Kurama stared into her piercing eyes. The complete lack of emotion made her look almost lifeless, the ghost-like quality of her complexion not helping. With a jolt, his mind flooded with memories of his past life as the master thief. He took a few steps back, unwrapping the deadly fauna with a flick of his wrist, and suppressing the sudden onset. "I'm here to help my friends."

The wolf demon made a peculiar noise somewhere in between a stifled cough and a growl. Her gaze flickered between the two humans and Kurama. She didn't say anything.


End file.
